1997 Atlantic 10 men's basketball tournament

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1997 Atlantic 10 men's basketball tournament
ClassificationDivision I
Season1996–97
Teams12
SiteCoreStates Spectrum
Philadelphia
ChampionsSaint Joseph's (2nd title)
Winning coachPhil Martelli (1st title)
MVPRashid Bey (Saint Joseph's)
← 1996
1998 →
1996–97 Atlantic 10 men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
East
No. 12 Saint Joseph's 13 3   .813 26 7   .788
Rhode Island 12 4   .750 20 10   .667
UMass 11 5   .688 19 14   .576
Temple 10 6   .625 20 11   .645
St. Bonaventure 5 11   .313 14 14   .500
Fordham 1 15   .063 6 21   .222
West
No. 13 Xavier 13 3   .813 23 6   .793
George Washington 8 8   .500 15 14   .517
Virginia Tech 7 9   .438 15 16   .484
Dayton 6 10   .375 13 14   .481
La Salle 5 11   .313 10 17   .370
Duquesne 5 11   .313 9 18   .333
1997 Atlantic 10 Tournament winner
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1997 Atlantic 10 men's basketball tournament was played from March 5 to March 8, 1997. The tournament was played at the CoreStates Spectrum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The winner was named champion of the Atlantic 10 Conference and received an automatic bid to the 1997 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament. Saint Joseph's University won the tournament. Massachusetts' second round loss to George Washington was their first loss in the conference tournament since 1991. Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Temple, and Xavier also received bids to the NCAA Tournament. Rashid Bey of Saint Joseph's was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. Future NBA player Tyson Wheeler of Rhode Island was among those also named to the All-Championship Team. The top two teams in each division received a first-round bye.

Bracket[edit]

First round
Wednesday, March 5
Quarterfinals
Thursday, March 6
Semifinals
Friday, March 7
Final
Saturday, March 8
            
E1 #19 Saint Joseph's 71
E5 St. Bonaventure 59
W4 Dayton 75
E5 St. Bonaventure 81
E1 #19 Saint Joseph's 78
W2 George Washington 70
W2 George Washington 58
E3 UMass 49
E3 UMass 64
W6 La Salle 49
E1 #19 Saint Joseph's 61
E2 Rhode Island 56
W1 #11 Xavier 62OT
E4 Temple 69
E4 Temple 64
W5 Duquesne 47
E4 Temple 66
E2 Rhode Island 69*
E2 Rhode Island 67
W3 Virginia Tech 63
W3 Virginia Tech 56
E6 Fordham 53

All games played at The Spectrum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania